The present invention relates to the technical field of household electrical cooking appliances of the toaster type and concerns more particularly the upper part of said toaster closing the heating chamber and, in certain cases, the reheating of foodstuffs such as rolls or pastries for said toaster.
The present invention concerns an improvement in the tops for toasters described and developed particularly in the document FR 99 12257 particularly concerning reheating tops. In addition to the advantages already described in this document, the present invention concerns more particularly the reduction in the temperature presented by the top of the toaster at its periphery. In effect, notably when the top is of metal, the temperature obtained at the peripheral circumference is sufficiently high to cause elongation of the walls of the toaster at this circumference, thus generating a peripheral space between the housing and the top.
This space must often be maintained by spacers in order to avoid a possible contact between the top and the housing. In effect, the relative flexibility of the housing, most often made of plastic, permits the housing to be pressed against the top when it is gripped, which can lead locally to problems of dark burn marks, or a softening, or a local melting of the plastic.
The object of the present invention is to remedy the problems presented by the prior art by providing a toaster having a frame arranged in a housing, at least one vertical toasting chamber open in the upper part of the housing, heating means located proximate to the toasting chamber, a top constituted by a peripheral plate at the opening of the toasting chamber and having an upper rim, said top further being composed of a peripheral flange, characterized in that the flange is maintained with the plate by material bridges.
By material bridges, there is intended a long and narrow zone, in a manner to assure mechanical retention of the flange, but largely limiting thermal transfer by conduction from the center of the top toward the periphery of the flange.
This configuration permits, by the sufficiently low temperature presented by the flange of the top, either to avoid providing spacers such as previously described, between the top and the housing, or to bring the top closer to the housing up to the point of eliminating the annular space separating them, the peripheral flange then being in contact with the housing of the toaster. This latter solution presents the advantage of rigidifying the walls of the toaster without difficulty and without a supplementary part. By this rigidification, the walls of the housing of the toaster can be made thinner, reducing the quantity of material and thus the cost.
In a particular configuration of the invention, the lower peripheral flange of the top is located at the interior of the toaster housing. This avoids having the peripheral edge of the top project out, reducing the finishing work in order to eliminate the risks of injury to a user.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the plate is connected with the housing of the toaster by being for example placed on the toaster housing. By fixing the top onto the upper part of the toaster, the flange thus prolongs the housing of the toaster, thus eliminating the annular space, which permits, in addition to rigidifying the walls of the toaster, to exploit the reheating function of the top, while reducing the risk of introduction of crumbs or objects into the toaster. In order to assure a better mechanical maintenance, the plate can be connected securely to the housing of the toaster.
According to a particular form of the invention, the lower peripheral flange is inclined at an angle xcex1 with respect to the horizontal, this angle being at least equal to 30xc2x0. This inclination permits the heat flux coming from the rear face of the reflector to be oriented toward the central zones, while thermally protecting the housing.
According to a particular embodiment of the invention, at least one part of the rim of the plate is raised with respect to the upper part of the housing. Such an arrangement permits use of the top as a food reheater. This arrangement avoids having the bread rest directly on the housing which could then be at a high local temperature, either from the heat generated by the bread, but above all by blockage of the opening of the heating chamber. Most housing being made of plastic, an abnormal increase in temperature would create the risk of deteriorating it and leaving local burn marks.
Advantageously, the rim of the top has openings permitting a homogeneous distribution of the heat.
According to an advantageous configuration of this embodiment, the rim of the plate has bosses, such as to present support points at different heights. These bosses permit either raising at least one part of the rim of the plate with respect to the upper part of the housing, or, when the rim is entirely raised with respect to the housing, delimiting hollow zones for an easier positioning of the bread. Moreover, these bosses can be provided to arrange warm air passages under the bread, which is thus reheated in a more homogenous manner.
As a complement to, or a variation of, the preceding configuration, the openings in the rim of the plate are concentrated at the level of the zones for positioning the bread. Ascending warm air can thus escape into the hollow parts resulting from the bossing, which promotes a better distribution of the heat in the zones provided to receive the bread.
Advantageously, the rim of the plate has an incline toward the opening of the heating chamber, permitting, on the one hand, to better seat pastries above the opening of the toaster, and, on the other hand, to prevent the bread from coming into direct contact with the openings of the plate.